Improvement in the construction of marble columns



2 Sheets--Sheet 1.

P. l. HARDY. C o nst r u 0 ti o n of M ar [1 I e 6 0| u m n s.

Patnted June 1, 1875.

WITN E5 5 E5:

2 Sheets--Sheet 2.

P. l. HARDY. Construction of Marble Columns.

PatentedJune1, 18 75r UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE.

PIERRE J. HARDY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF MARBLE CQLUMNS,

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 163,995, dated June 1,1875; application filed May 1, 1875.

CASE A.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PIERRE J. HARDY, of New York city, in the county ofNew York and in the State of New York, have invented certain new anduseful Improvement in the Application of Marble or Stone to theOrnamentation of Columns; and do hereby declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which-Figure l is a perspective view of a column constructed in accordancewith my improved method. (Fig. 2 is a vertical central section of thesame; and Figs. 3 and 4 are horizontal sections upon lines 00 a: and z2, respectively, of Fig.2.

Letters of like name and kind refer to like parts in each of thefigures.

In the construction of stone columns for architectural purposes, theincrease in size-and expense have no correspondence, the latter beingeffected by many contingencies, such as the difficulty experienced inprocuring stone which will cut to the desired dimensions, the time andlabor required for quarrying such stone, the distance from the quarry,and the facilities for transporting the same to the point where it is tobe used, all of which contingencies render the element of expense theprincipal consideration in planning a building, and in many instancescompel the adoption of inferior styles because of the great outlayinvolved by the use of others, in which large columns are employed.

To obviate these difficulties, and enable large columns to beconstructed at a comparatively small expense, is the design of myinvention, which consists in a column composed of a metal center,longitudinally-divided sectional stone shaft, and recessed metal platesfor receiving and containing the ends of said shaft, sub stantially asand for the purpose hereinafter specified.

In the annexed drawings, A represents the base, and B the shaft, of acolumn, which have any horizontal form or dimensions, and are eachcomposed of four or more vertical sections that are joined together uponradial lines, as seen in Figs. 3 and 4, and have a central opening thathas any desired size or shape. The lower end of the base A is containedwithin a corresponding opening that is formed in a metal plate, (I,while between its upper end and the lower end of the shaft 13 is placeda second metal plate, D, which latter is caused to embrace the ends ofsaid parts, and confine their sections in radial position. The upper endof the shaft B is embraced by a third metal plate, E, while within thecentral opening formed in said shaft and the base A is placed a metalbar or frame, F, which may be in the form of a bolt, provided upon itsends with nuts f and f, for confining said parts in longitudinalposition, as shown in Fig. 2 or said metal center may have such shapeand horizontal dimensions as to enable it to sustain the entire weightto be placed upon the column, in which latter event the stone employedfor the construction of said shaft and base need have no greaterthickness than is required in order to enable their sections to sustaintheir own weight.

The stones required for constructing the sections cost but a fraction ofthe sum that will be needed to procure a stone which has sufficient bulkto yield a solid base or shaft, while the time and labor necessary forthe production of a column, as described, will be materially lessthan ifsaid column is constructed in the usual manner.

Having thus fully set forth the nature and merits of my invention, whatI claim as new,

PIERRE J. HARDY.

Witnesses ALFRED EvANs, ABRAHAM WEBB.

